5 Ways Dogs Keep You Sane’ish’

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Merial, the maker of NexGard® (afoxolaner) Chewables. As part of the sponsorship, I received compensation for my time. The opinions and text are all mine.

I’ve always been an animal person. There’s just something about a cute and cuddly ball of fur that makes my heart sing. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always had dogs. Now that I have a family of my own, you guys know I love my dogs! You’ve seen Karma and Happy on Instagram®. They are the most awesome dogs ever. My husband and I joke that they are “our children” since we never had biological kids together. He tries to act like he’s not attached to them as much as I am, but don’t let him lie to you.

Sure it’s cliche that people say that dogs are “family,” but they really are. Our fur babies have helped us get through so much in our family. The year from hell two years ago they wereprobably one of the saving graces for me. When Bayla was so sick, and in and out of the hospital that year, the one thing in the whole wide world that would give her comfort was her dog Happy. She would just grab a blanket, and grab her puppy, and snuggle up on the couch. In a time that I felt helpless to help my own child, Happy gave her some friendship and comfort that I wasn’t able to bring her that year. Karma our other fur baby is my buddy, ok, well mine and the husband’s. She’s spastic, filled with too much energy at times, but she is the snuggliest cuddle baby ever. When I am having really crappy days, she will come over to me, nuzzle me with her head and we’ll just sit on the couch and snuggle. It’s become our daily ritual.

This winter she freaked me out, because being a Sheltie/Husky, that girl loves to run. Late one night, she managed to escape the house, and we couldn’t find her for HOURS! I was so devastated, as was my eldest daughter. She got Karma on her birthday so technically Karma is her dog. We spent an hour searching for her through our neighborhood; driving around calling her name. It was below freezing, and past midnight. Eventually we had to give up. We were so sad. We live right off the Mississippi River, and even though it was mainly iced over, it terrified us that she might’ve gone down to the river.

With broken hearts, we all headed to bed, but hubby stayed up just in case she decided to come back. About three ‘o clock in the morning, hubby came into the bedroom and the next thing I felt was a giant leap on the bed and my face was covered in slobbery, fishy smelling kisses! Karma had had enough fun playing outside and had decided to come home. Wayne said she pawed at the front door, and when he opened the door she hung her head down as if to say, “I know, Daddy. I was a bad girl, but BOY was that fun!” She had been down at the Mississippi eating her belly full of dead Carp from the spring thaw. Man that dog wreaked of dead fish, but I was so glad to see her! Our dogs are so much a part of our family. We take care of them, and they take care of us. That’s why it’s so important to us to make sure they are happy and healthy. These are our five favorite ways our fur babies help keep us sane’ish’.

Top 5 Ways Dogs Keep You Sane’ish’

1. Big Fat Slobbery Kisses: It grosses some people out, but we love big fat slobbery dog kisses. When you are having an awful day, they know how to make you feel better with lots of kisses.

2. Stress Zappers:On days when life really stinks, you can curl up with your dog and the stress just seems to melt away.

3. Unconditional Love: Dogs love you no matter what. Ok, they love you no matter what as long as you fill their food bowls. So they give you unconditional’ish’ love.

4. Make You Feel Like A Rock Star: There’s nothing better than coming home and beinggreeted like a rock star. Dogs love jumping and barking and celebrating that you are home. It’s

almost as great as having your own groupies.

5. Loyalty and Friendship: Sometimes I think dogs understand loyalty more than people. You take care of your dogs and they are going to take care of you. Their loyalty and friendship is the

absolute best!

Our dogs mean so much to us that we do our very best to make sure they are getting the best life possible. We live in a wooded area and that means that fleas and ticks are big issues for our dogs.  We don’t want our fur babies worrying about those nasty blood-suckers, so as soon as we got settled in our new home, we found a great vet that got the dogs all up to date on exams, their vaccines and even flea/tick control. Thankfully, they are both of them are fit as a fiddle, and thanks to NexGard®(afoxolaner) I know my dogs are going to be protected against fleas and ticks.

NexGard is an easy to give beef-flavored chewable that provides protection against fleas and ticks. That’s why my vet recommended it to us. Our life is so crazy that the fact it’s so easy to give and that our dogs love it makes our life a whole lot easier! If you are looking for ways to help protect your dogs, make sure to ask your vet about it too. Happy and Karma recommended.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Merial, the maker of NexGard. As part of the sponsorship, I received compensation for my time. The opinions and text are all mine.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

NexGard is for use in dogs only. The most frequently reported adverse reactions include vomiting, dry/flaky skin, diarrhea, lethargy, and anorexia. The safe use of NexGard in pregnant, breeding or lactating dogs has not been evaluated. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. For more information, ask your veterinarian or see the full prescribing information. ®NexGard is a registered trademark of Merial. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. ©2015 Merial, Inc., Duluth, GA. All rights reserved. NGBLOGPOST-2 (9/15)

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

NexGard is for use in dogs only. The most frequently reported adverse reactions include vomiting, dry/flaky skin, diarrhea, lethargy, and anorexia. The safe use of NexGard in pregnant, breeding or lactating dogs has not been evaluated. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures. For more information, ask your veterinarian or see the full prescribing information.

®NexGard is a registered trademark of Merial. ©2015 Merial, Inc., Duluth, GA. All rights reserved.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Merial, the maker of NexGard. As part of the sponsorship, I received compensation for my time. The opinions and text are all mine.